Fountain comb



Dec. 1, 1936. F. E. RAYMOND FOUNTAIN COMB 2 Sh eets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 8, 1955 INVENTOR. fi-anklzh zzy/2101M, BY 1 Whz a ATTORNEY.

1936. F. RAYMOND FOUNTAIN COMB Filed Oct. 8, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet? ATTORNEZYU f Patented Dec. 1, 1936 UNITED STATES OFFICE 7 Claims.

The present invention relates to hair combs and particularly to a fountain comb, that is a comb fitted with a reservoir for a liquid and designed to permit liquid from such reservoir to be absorbed by the hair to which the comb is applied.

Hair dyeing is quite common and might be more extensively practiced but for the difliculty of uniform application of the dye and the danger of discoloring the skin. In view of the foregoing, it is an object of this invention to provide a fountain comb of simple and inexpensive construction. It is a further object to provide a comb of this type which may be safely and conveniently operated by any person of ordinary intelligence without preliminary expert training in its use, to the end that the comb of my invention may find its place in the home and so relieve the person desiring to dye the hair from the inconvenience and possible embarassment of public attendance.

These and the further objects and advantageous features of the invention are fully set forth in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a structure embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a substantially corresponding plan view of the device, also with parts broken away for the sake of clearness, I

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional end view taken on line 33 of Fig. l, in the direction of the arrow,

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the comb portion of the invention as it appears when removed from the handle portion of the comb,

Fig. 5 is an inverted plan view of the handle portion of the invention, and

Figs. 6 to 9 illustrate certain modifications of the device the importance of which will hereinafter fully be described.

The comb of the invention, as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, comprises two main portions, a frame 1, supporting the comb proper, 2. This frame comprises a. body portion l terminating in a handle l The body portion is shown recessed at I, see Fig. 5, to receive and tightly to hold the comb 2, and a duct l extends from this recess through the entire length of the handle. The distal end of this duct is provided with screw threads for engagement by a threaded plug 3.

Through this duct, liquid is admitted to the comb in the following manner. The comb proper comprises a body portion, or back, in which is provided a longitudinal groove 2 extending the full length of the comb, and it is important to note that this groove reaches a short distance into the roots of the teeth, as best shown in Fig. 2, to provide restricted passages 2 for the liquid from the handle duct to the teeth of the comb.

In view of the foregoing, it is seen that the liquid within the device is free to pass into the 5 spaces between the roots of the teeth, there to be absorbed by the hair while combing the hair.

Where the'liquid employed is attenuated, it is well to introduce into the groove 2 within the comb some suitable absorbent material, which 10 conveniently may be made into the form of a wick l, and it may also be preferred to recess the back of the comb, as indicated at 2, in order to provide a reservoir capable of holdinga goodly supply of the liquid. When this reservoir is filled 15 and the wick is well saturated withthe liquid, it is seen that liquid is imparted to the hair by contact with the exposed portion of the saturated wick during the process of combing. When care is taken to select a wick of the proper consistency relative to the degree of fluidity of the liquid employed, it is found that the comb will deliver a uniform supply of liquid to the hair which is being combed. Also that no liquid will reach the scalp of the head or the skin of the face or neck. As the handle will hold a relatively large supply of liquid,"it is possible uniformly and effectively to coat even a long, thick head of hair within a much shorter period of time than is consumed where the usual sponging methods are employed and with no danger of 30 discoloring either the skin of the head or the fingers operating the comb.

It is above stated that the comb is tightly fitted into the frame recess. It may be well also to seal the joints between the comb and frame by means of some suitable cementor, where the comb and frame are made from a rubber compositiomby a vulcanizing' process. Whenproper- 1y combined and sealed, it is seen that the device 40 may retain the appearance of an ordinary comb although, in order to hold a reasonable supply of liquid, it may be somewhat thicker than the combs generally used.

In the foregoing, the'device of my invention is 45 described as made and assembled from two main parts, the comb proper and the handle. It is, however, possible to make the device from a single main part, and such construction is shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8. 50

In this case, the comb is made with a longitudinal bore m extending nearly to the end of the handle portion, and with a groove Ill leading from this bore into the roots of the teeth. These cavities of the device may be made either by a 55 molding process, where the comb is made from a composition capable of being molded, or the reservoir and groove may be provided by a drilling and subsequent broaching operation if the material does not permit of molding. A suitable plug II is then employed to close the open end of the device and it should be made detachable to permit of refilling the comb. Or the open end may be permanently closed and a screw plug fitted in the end of the handle in the manner shown in Fig. I, if preferred. A Wick I2 is shown inserted into the groove.

In Fig. 9, another modification is shown to comprise a comb 20, formed with a bore 20 and groove 20 The end of the comb is shown made with a threaded aperture 20, into which a screw plug, similar to the plug 3, may be fitted if it is desired to use a short comb, or athimble shaped handle 2| may be employed in place of the screw plug to provide a long handled comb with a large storage space. To facilitate refilling, it may be preferred to provide also a plug in one end of the device. A wick 22 should also be placed within the groove 20 to prevent too rapid flow of the liquid.

In the modified structures, it is necessary to insert the wick from the open end of the device and then to push it into the groove with the aid of a suitable rod-like tool. Otherwise these structures are substantially the equivalents of the device of Fig. 1.

While the comb of my invention primarily is intended for use in combing hair, it may be employed to comb other substances of hair-like fineness, and the comb may be filled with other liquids, such as hair tonics or the like, without in any manner modifying the shape of the device or changing its principle.

The drawings are merely illustrative of devices embodying the-invention and no attention has been paid to proper proportioning, the main object being clearly to disclose the underlying principle of the invention. And I reserve the right to embody such further modifications as come within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A fountain comb comprising, a frame recessed to form a reservoir for a liquid, and a comb the back of which is tightly seated in said frame to close the said recess, there being in the 4 comb back a longitudinal groove extending into the roots of the comb teeth to form restricted passages from said reservoir to the teeth of the comb.

2. A'fountain comb comprising, a frame recessed to form a reservoir for a liquid, and a comb the back of which is tightly seated in said frame to close the said recess, there being in the comb back a longitudinal groove extending into the roots of thec'oinb teeth to form restricted passages from the reservoir to the teeth of the comb, and means for sealing the. comb into the frame.

3. A fountain comb comprising, a frame recessed toform a reservoir for a liquid, a wick in said reservoir, and a comb the back of which is tightly seated in said frame to close the said recess, there being in the comb back a longitudinal groove extending into the roots of the comb teeth to form restricted passages from the reservoir to the teeth of the comb. 4. A fountain comb comprising, a frame recessed to form a reservoir for a liquid, a wick in said reservoir, a comb the back of which is tightly seated in said frame toclose the said recess, there being in the comb back a longitudinal groove extending into the roots of the comb teeth to form restricted passages from the reservoir to the teeth of the comb, and means for sealing the comb into the frame.

5. In a fountain comb, a frame comprising a recessed body portion from which extends a handle, a comb the back of which is shaped tightly to fit into said recess to provide an enclosed reservoir at the bottom of the recess, there being a duct leading from said reservoir to the end of the handle, and means for closing the end of said duct, there being in the back of. said comb a longitudinal groove extending into the roots of the comb teeth to form restricted passages from the reservoir to the space between the comb teeth.

6. In a fountain comb, a frame comprising a recessed body portion from which extends a handle, a comb the back of which is shaped tightly to fit into said recess to provide a reservoir, there being a duct leading from said reservoir to the end of the handle, means for closing the distal end of said duct, there being in the back of the comb a longitudinal groove extending into the roots of the comb teeth to form passages from said reservoir to the space between the comb teeth, and a wick within said reservoir.

7. In a fountain comb, a frame comprising a recessed body portion from which extends a handle, a comb the back of which is shaped to be tightly secured into said recess to provide a reservoir, there being a duct leading from said reservoir to the end of the handle, means for closing the distal end of said duct, the back of the comb having a transverse recess cooperating with the frame recess to increase the capacity of said reservoir and a longitudinal groove extending from said transverse recess into the roots of the comb teeth to form passages from the reservoir to the space between the comb teeth, and a wick in said reservoir.

FRANKLIN E. RAYMOND. 

